AFTER five difficult years marked by COVID-19 shutdowns and funding cuts, Perth’s iconic Blue Room Theatre is striving to bring artists back to the stage. 

The theatre in Northbridge is currently raising funds to reignite the much-loved Winter Nights festival, which has not returned since the depths of Covid in 2020. 

The fundraiser aims to raise $30,000 by June 30, with donors doubling every contribution to create $60,000 for West Australian artists and the two-week festival’s return.

Blue Room’s marketing coordinator Ayo Busari said the pandemic had major impacts on the artists and the venue’s audiences.

“During Covid it was very difficult for everyone, especially people in the arts,” Mr Busari said.

The venue was usually “busy and lively,” he said, but during the pandemic “most people didn’t want to go out,” which caused a significant decrease in audiences.

The theatre later suffered another major blow, when its four-year funding application was knocked back by the Australia Council, ending two decades of financial support. 

In 2020, former theatre chair Shane Colquhoun described it as a “distressing blow”.

Despite these challenges, the Blue Room Theatre has continued to support artists and rebuild audiences through stronger marketing campaigns and community engagement initiatives. 

The Winter Nights Festival will feature workshops, industry events and fresh new performance works, whilst also expanding the theatre’s 600 Seconds short works program across dance, theatre, cabaret, music and design. 

The festival aims to fresh opportunities for Western Australian artists to showcase their work in front of live audiences after years of uncertainty in the arts sector.

Head to https://blueroom.org.au/support-us/donate/ to support the fundraiser

by RUBY PRESTON